Sugarcane farmers flay govt

Sugarcane farmers in the district have expressed their disappointment over power plant construction works in Alanganallur National Cooperative Sugar Mills proceeding at a snail’s pace though they have long back contributed for the project.

TNN | Nov 18, 2012, 05.15 AM IST

MADURAI: Sugarcane farmers in the district have expressed their disappointment over power plant construction works in Alanganallur National Cooperative Sugar Mills proceeding at a snail's pace though they have long back contributed for the project. During the Tamil Nadu Sugarcane Farmers Association conference held here on Saturday, farmers expressed their disappointment over the thermal power plants inside the sugar mills which can generate power through sugarcane waste. They passed a resolution urging the state government to expedite the works. The previous regime proposed 10 such plants in the sugar mills, allocating Rs 1,100 crore. Sugarcane farmers were also asked to contribute Rs 100 per tonne. "We have realised Rs 5 crore in that manner and handed it over to the government, but construction of these power plants is slow without any thrust from the present regime," N Palanisamy, president of the association said.

Palanisamy stressed if the thermal power plant comes up in the sugar mill, the district can be powered from the plant, easing out the current power crisis to a great deal. At present, sugarcane is cultivated in 15,000 acres in the district though the original cultivation was 25,000 acres. Every year, the sugar mill at Alanganallur crushes 3.5 lakh tonnes of sugarcane with 2,500 tonnes as daily capacity. The waste generated in the sugar mill can be used to produce power which will greatly aid farmers, he said.

The association also strongly opposed the recommendations of the C Rangarajan committee over reforms in the sugarcane industry.

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